


Punchdrunk Supercut

by leonpaladin



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-12-10 16:59:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11695989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leonpaladin/pseuds/leonpaladin
Summary: Niall gets wasted at a party and Liam confesses his feelings for him.Niall doesn't know how to respond.





	Punchdrunk Supercut

_“Hey…”_

_“Yeah?”_

_“I wanna tell you something…”_

_“Um…okay?”_

_“I-I love you—”_

Every night, beneath the bleeding lights, the young lived and died; scattered on the floor like murder and throwing up over the balcony like morning sickness. Spent and delirious — going on about taking off their pants and getting laid, or how their mommy’s gonna kill them. Burning grass hazed the room and white powder dusted the tables. A girl was on the kitchen countertop, crying out as she got eaten down under; by the couch a guy was giving his best friend’s pole a good sucking.

Niall Horan staggered up the stairs as he fled the desolation behind him. Cheeks burning red and eyes watery, a recent conversation continued to ring in his ears. It bothered him too much that he couldn’t figure out whether he needed the bathroom to vomit the alcohol in his veins or crash onto a bed and wake up with a hangover in the morning. As he leaned against the wall, something crashed beside him — maybe a picture frame — but he continued to drag himself towards the closest door.

At last, he stumbled into a dimly lit room that looked like a convention of stuffed animals that glared at him on every corner — Mr. Unicorn was pale under the lights, a pink bunny was sulking by the window, while two brown bears were probably planning on cannibalizing him. Niall slumped onto the bed, breathing in a sweet scent that could easily turn him on — but it didn’t. The conversation was filling his mind with dread.

His lips… his eyes… his voice… his arms… his… his—

Niall started to feel himself get hard.

“ _Fucking hell_ …” he groaned.

 _No_. This wasn’t happening. Although in retrospect, didn’t he want this to happen? How long had he been fantasizing him to say those words? In its realization, however, the words sounded different. It felt wrong — even worse than when Niall kept his feelings to himself. Why did it feel wrong? They felt the same way about each other, what’s there to be afraid of?

Maybe because Niall had this nagging feeling in his stomach that after the morning breaks and everything had came down from the highs, all that had been said between the shots and smoked joints will have faded. He was afraid it was all an intoxicated ruse that was meant to break like the champagne glasses they used to toast the bourbon and cola. His smiles and giggles as they cozied up on the couch were just illusions of a drunken, swollen feeling that went out of proportion.

How could he had let that happen? They were staring at each other, muddy irises finding the ocean in Niall’s iced blues. Niall grabbed his arm — next thing he knew, they were kissing madly, holding on while they sucked each other’s breaths away. After that, Niall stood up and ran away; the taste of breath mints and Diet Coke lingered in Niall’s mouth.

“Liam…” Niall breathed out, staring at the bedroom ceiling as if it would answer back. “You’re a piece of work, aren’t you? _God_ , why did I have to fall for you, Payne?!”

Niall had known Liam since they were four. But in those days, they’ve only met a few times a year: horrible family Christmas dinners where they would sneak out to the backyard and gaze at the stars; a neighborhood wedding or funeral where Niall was so keen on pulling off that thick bowtie noosing round his neck; unrepeated sleepovers when they were eight; and several occasions during Halloween when Liam would always dress up as the Caped Crusader. It wasn’t until high school that they’ve managed to fit themselves into each other’s lives. Way past their sophomore year, they started to hang out, having late night calls that Niall found so addicting. He loved the deep drone of Liam’s voice so he kept coming up with questions until one of them falls asleep. The meadows outside of town was their spot on Sundays, where Niall could have Liam all for himself especially when he started to fall in love with him.

Liam was oblivious about Niall’s feelings…or so Niall believed. He had always thought that Liam was just a protective friend, someone who wasn’t afraid to get close, which transpired on several instances much to Niall’s delight. Every opportunity he had, Niall would keep Liam close, steal glances when he’s not looking. Not until the night of the party did Niall find out how much Liam had been stealing glances at him too….

A supercut of all those moments flashed before Niall, bursting out from his deepest memories like a dam. He relived every smile, every brush of their skin, and all of the frozen seconds that almost broke his sanity—

“ _Niall_? Are you in there?”

Niall jerked up from the bed. Liam’s voice outside the door had caused a rush of panic through his body. He scrambled to find a way out — but there wasn’t any except for the door. Niall cursed loudly before he could stop himself, regretting it quickly after.

“I know you’re in there,” said Liam. “Can I come in? I just wanted to talk…”

“You’ve already talked to me,” shouted Niall, contemplating on jumping out the window and down the grass below. He opened the window, hoisted himself a little bit slow and ended up getting caught by Liam who had burst through the door.

“ _What_ are you doing?”

“Fresh air…” mumbled Niall, trying to avoid eye contact.

He got off the window sill and warily paced back to the bed. Liam moved through the shadows, lurking with only half of his countenance illuminated by the feeble night light that pulsated sluggishly. Niall sat down the edge of the bed, gazing at Liam who had stopped a few steps away from him, and wondering what would happen next.

“You left…” said Liam. “I-I thought—”

“Don’t take it personally, Liam,” jabbed Niall, steadying his breath. “Been around me for so long — you should’ve known I get giddy.”

“So you didn’t leave because I kissed you?”

Niall scoffed.

Liam looked curiously at him.

“It…was what I said, am I right?”

“You were drunk,” shrugged Niall.

“I’m sober enough,” replied Liam. “Quite enough to tell you what I feel…”

“Are you sure?” Niall pressed harshly. “Whose to say you’d forget you even said it tomorrow?”

Liam’s face lightened under the pale light. A sudden realization struck him, morphing his expression into a saddened one. “Is that what you think — that it’s all but a drunken confession that was meant to fade along with the night?”

There was no reply from Niall who was still avoiding his eyes. Liam glared at him, his chest filling up with annoyance.

“Well it’s not,” Liam said as-a-matter-of-factly. “I _really_ do love you, Niall—”

Niall stood up. “No, you don’t!”

“Yes, I do! Since we were twelve, I always felt different about you! I get mushed up inside whenever I feel you close. Back then I thought it was because you were my friend but no — it’s _more_ than that.”

“You—” Niall swallowed. “Y-You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Liam advanced towards Niall, forcefully hauling Niall’s arms and crushing their mouths together. Niall tried to break free of Liam’s grasp, hands clawing at the chest pressing against him. With a heavy push, Liam had crashed them onto the shelves, causing a plethora of stuffed figures to rain down on them.

“What are you so afraid of?” growled Liam between kisses.

“That this is my fault!” spat Niall. “I-I didn’t stop you and somehow you’ll regret this along the way — then we won’t be friends anymore, then you’ll throw me out of your life—”

“Stop. Just _stop_ ,” said Liam incredulously. “Now, _that_ is drunk talk. I told you I love you while I’m sober, what more proof do you want that this won’t end up like a car crash bursting into flames?” He stroked his hand against Niall’s wet cheek. “Even if it did, wouldn’t it be worse if we didn’t try? You can blame me if you want, Niall, but until then, enough of the punchdrunk supercuts of our relationship’s oblivion, yeah? I swear you won’t regret taking a chance on me…”

They stood silently; Liam let go of Niall’s arms… And then for a moment, everything was tensed up and then it dissipated. Niall slowly reached for Liam’s hand, ravelling their fingers and shivering at their skins brushing.

“They’re gonna write tales about you, Liam Payne,” Niall mocked, trying to calm himself down with a papery smile on his lips. “You’re one proper crooner.”

“Is that a yes?” whispered Liam, grinning madly.

They were now walking home — treading the sidewalk quietly while basking in the freezing air of the ending autumn. They never talked but it seemed the silence was enough.

Since that night, beneath the cold light, two souls continued to live but never die; they have ran away from the hazes and drunk acrimony — choosing to chase each other under the silvery glow of the moon: The shadows of the trees meant stolen kisses and longing stares were silent I love you’s that they kept to themselves.


End file.
